1080p is the short term used to name HDTV video modes. 1080 is the number that identifies the HDTV video modes and the 1080 in the name represents 1,080 lines placed in a vertical position. The letter p is for the progressive scan. This means that the image isn’t interlaced. So this means it assumes the widescreen ratio 16:9 and this implies the horizontal resolution using 1920 pixels. The frame resolution is of 1920×1080 and the frame rate can be specified with the letter p or implied. It can also be shown as 1080p30, which means 30 progressive frames for one second or sometimes 1080i60 – resulting in 60 interlaced fields/second. The 1080p picture, has a similar resolution similar to the pictures made by the 2K digital cinema technology. This resolution is referred to as “Full HD”. The usage of 1080p refers to a wide range of capabilities. The video equipment can sometimes take lower resolution formats and distribute them in a high resolution display. The image resulting does not compare to a full HD one but it is good in quality. So it all depends on the equipment that displays the image as well. This is why you need to look for the term “native 1080p-capable” in order to get equipment that can render 1080p fully.

    The HDTV technology has entered the United States in the 1990s. It was brought by the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance. This was a TV group of stations and MIT. They tested HDTV in 1994. A few years later they broadcasted using the tower of WRAL-TV. The signal they emitted was from coast-to-coast.

European HDTV broadcasts

    Even if HDTV broadcasts have been in Europe since the 1990s, they went on mainstream use in 2004 when Euro1080 released the HD1 channel on Vienna New Year’s Concert. That small test was a success and nowadays we have more HD channels available.